Roasted Delicata Squash, Cauliflower + Chickpea Curry

When I tell people that I spent my junior year of college in Bologna, Italy, the first thing they usually say is, “I bet the food there was amazing!” In actuality, with the exception of a dish of wild mushrooms from a restaurant, a single gelateria that I discovered a month before I came home, and the many containers of super creamy yogurt I nommed, this was not exactly the case.

Bologna is best known for its hand-shaped pastas stuffed with pork and smothered in cream sauce, which I’m sure are delectable. However, having become interested in health for the first time in my life, this wasn’t a meal I was eager to eat on a daily basis, trying as I was to avoid wheat, dairy, and mammals. Plus, I was living off of student loans during the year in which the dollar crashed below the Euro. I took to doing most of my shopping at a discount grocer on the outskirts of town where one could pick up cut-rate wines, cheeses, and packets of smoked salmon, all for under a Euro. (I’m lucky I didn’t pick up a case of food poisoning while I was at it.)

As for cooking at home, following recipes was challenging as we had no measuring equipment save for a tiny scale that my housemate used to weigh out her daily pasta ration. (This is one reason that I try to add gram measurements to my recipes!) That year, I survived mainly on a diet of risotto, salads, and sorbetti, while my best friend and I, homesick for the diverse cuisines of California, occasionally tried to emulate Mexican and Indian food in our small, poorly equipped kitchens.

One of the first things I recall cooking in our dorm-like room was rice in a cheap, non-stick pot we had purchased from a street market. Growing up, my family had eschewed Teflon, thus I didn’t realize how sensitive the stuff was. Similarly clueless about how to cook rice, I stirred the mixture vigorously with a metal spoon as it simmered away. Unsurprisingly, I turned out a pot of white goo flecked with black shards of non-stick coating. That gluey, grey substance is the first thing my mind flashes to when asked about the cuisine of Bologna.

We threw the pot away, and I eventually learned how to cook rice without it becoming a toxic glob. We managed to track down curry powder and coconut milk with which we made what we referred to as fake Indian food. Sauteed onions and potatoes, sometimes chicken, simmered with the spice mixture and coconut milk became a lovely curry-like substance that went into our regular rotation.

I realized how little I still know about curry when I brought up the subject with Nik and Phi at a recent trip to a chaat house in the South Bay. Nik told me that curry powder was a Western confabulation, as was the term curry, which enveloped the broad category of spiced dishes cooked with a gravy. (Though I just consulted Wikipedia on the subject, and it turns out curries can be either saucy or dry.)

In any case, this particular curry came about in quite an accidental and fake-Indian-foody way. I was in bed with a cold and got hangry enough to tear myself away from whatever trashy movie I’d found on Netflix to take my mind off my stuffy sinuses. In the fridge were some leftovers from these stuffed poblanos – quinoa, peppers, and roasted butternut squash. Craving something warm and soupy, I sauteed up some onion, garlic, and ginger, added curry powder, turmeric and coconut milk, and we spooned the whole thing over quinoa topped with a handful of cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

I won’t say that the curry cured me, but I did feel much better the next day (and I even had some for breakfast). I’ve been making it non-stop ever since.

When the poblanos I’d been getting from the farmers market shifted from tasting completely mild to insanely hot, we started using just enough to give the dish a bit of kick and adding bulk with roasted cauliflower. Delicata squash make pretty half-rings and they also simplify things since you can eat their skin. We’ve been cooking chickpeas to have in green salads, so I added a cup to the curry which lends extra texture and protein. And I finally caved and made my own spice blend complete with fresh turmeric which brightens the flavors a bit (though store-bought curry powder and ground turmeric will be tasty, too, should you prefer).

Oven-roasting the vegetables separately builds flavor and helps them hold their shape in the final dish. The base is versatile, so feel free to trade in any seasonal vegetables that you like. I’ve included the poblano version below since it was a favorite.

Soaking the quinoa for an hour prior to cooking rids it of its naturally bitter coating and helps it steam more quickly. But you can certainly serve this over rice instead.

This is a versatile recipe that lends itself to many variations. Use any roasted vegetables you like in place of the cauliflower and/or delicata squash. Use cooked lentils in place of the chickpeas. Use pre-fab curry powder in place of the spice blend and half the amount of dried turmeric in place of the fresh. Add a few handfuls of spinach toward the end of cooking, or serve the curry over a different cooked grain. Our other favorite version uses mild poblano peppers in place of the cauliflower and chickpeas, which I've included below. To cook your own chickpeas, cover a cup or two of dried beans with plenty of cool water and let soak 8 hours or overnight. Drain, then place in a pot with plenty of water and a small bay leaf. Simmer, partially covered, until the chickpeas are almost tender, then add a teaspoon or so of salt to the water and continue cooking until the beans are tender but still hold their shape. Let cool in their broth, then refrigerate until needed, up to a week.

Cover the quinoa with several inches of cool water and soak 1 hour. After an hour, drain the quinoa through a fine mesh strainer and rinse it well to remove any bitter coating. Place the drained quinoa in a medium saucepan with the 1½ cups water and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to very low, cover, and let steam until tender and all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Roast the vegetables:

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 400ºF.

Halve the squash lengthwise and scoop out and discard the seeds and

strings. Place a half cut-side down and cut crosswise into ½" thick slices. Repeat with the remaining squash. Toss with 1 tablespoon oil and a few pinches of salt, spread in an even layer on a baking pan, and roast until golden and tender, 20-30 minutes, turning the slices when the bottoms are golden.

Toss the cauliflower florets with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and roast until golden and crisp tender, tossing occasionally, about 20 minutes.

Make the curry:

In a small, dry skillet, toast the coriander, cumin, and black pepper over a medium flame until they smell fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Let cool, then grind finely in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.

Peel the onion, halve it, and cut it into thin slices. Peel the garlic cloves, and slice them thinly. Peel the ginger chunks and cut them into slivers. Halve the chile, remove the seeds and ribs, and slice it thinly. (Be sure to wash your hands well with soapy water lest the chile oils burn your skin.)

Melt the ghee in a wide skillet over medium heat. When it shimmers, add the onion, garlic, ginger, and chile, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is wilted and tender, 10 minutes. Add the spice mixture, turmeric, and ½ teaspoon salt, and cook for 5 minutes longer. Add the chickpea broth to the pan and stir up any good stuff sticking to the bottom. Add the coconut milk, give it a stir, and bring to a simmer. Gently fold in the chickpeas, roasted cauliflower and squash, and let simmer 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the cilantro. Taste, adding more salt if you feel the curry needs it.

Serve the curry over the quinoa accompanied with a lime wedge to squeeze over it and a dollop of yogurt if you like.

The curry and quinoa keep well, refrigerated airtight, for up to a few days. Reheat before serving.

Variation: Delicata Squash and Poblano Pepper Curry

Omit the cauliflower and the spicy chile. Cut 3-4 mild poblanos, halved and seeded, crosswise into wide strips, adding them along with the turmeric and spices. After you've added the squash, simmer the curry until the chiles are cooked enough for your liking but still somewhat firm. The chickpeas are optional.

Accidental curry sounds just perfect to me ;). Love that you roasted the vegetables and all these incredible flavors! And I'm with you on Bologna – not the best food in Italy. I've found better in Tuscany and Rome, and there's a restaurant in Venice I still dream about almost daily.

There's nothing I love more than cauliflower in a curry, it's absolutely the taste of comfort food for me. And this looks like such gorgeous 'fake Indian food', I don't think I could care about the fake!

the curry (concept, label, spice blend, ahh) issue is something i've had on the mind lately. i thought about trying to ditch the word from my vocabulary but it's just so easy to refer to something richly-spiced and savory as a curry. (plus i'd have to rearrange some pinterest boards. /cry)

curry or not a curry, your roasty veggie bowl looks delicious. and your teflon story made me smile. eek!

I toss dry curry onto just about Everything – figuring i'm semi-cosmopolitan, too. Despite its Western incarnation, I shall always love the dry stuff. Your homemade version does look cosy and delicious! I'm also fighting it out with a wicked head cold…maybe I can dig up something spicy & wonderful and pretend it looks half this sexy.

Did anyone really eat amazing food in college? No matter where you are, you still have to learn to cook then! I for one had a whole lot of tuna noodle casserole, sandwiches smuggled out of the cafeteria for late-night supplements, and salsa straight from the jar to make up for the lack of veg in our snack bar. So sophisticated! :) This curry sounds excellent — and I think you've used half the veg we've gotten in our CSA box over the past few weeks too!

There's a special place in my heart for the kind of 'fake Indian' food that you talk about here; that fairly generic 'curry' that they used to serve when I was at school and before I appreciated the range and versatility of Indian flavours. This looks like a bowl of pure comfort.

Thank you so much Kathryn. I'm deeply envious that you got served curry at school, generic or no. The most interesting food we got was chalupa – a fried corn tortilla topped with sketchy ground beef and a sea of cheese. Boo!

Hi Alanna! So great meeting you last night. I'm absolutely watering at the mouth over these photos, and this dish sounds like something I would love. However, it's a little too complicated for me. Perhaps you can invite me to your next dinner party? I'll bring wine? :)

This dish is so delicious. I made it last night and accidentally used curry powder instead of turmeric. I was worried and wanted to pull out my hair….but it was a flavor bomb! I'm pretty sure the food canceled out a whole week of bad luck with my boyfriend and pulled empathy out of thin air. What an evening! What a curry!

I think this is my favorite comment ever! Thank you for making the curry – I'm so glad the extra curry powder only enhanced the flavors, woohoo! I'm thrilled that it helped your relationship as well as your tastebuds. :)